


What If

by melismatic



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Beginning of Mikey/April if you squint, Sad, Sad Ending, Tragedy, intergalactic, space
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-28
Updated: 2017-05-28
Packaged: 2018-11-06 02:27:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11026668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melismatic/pseuds/melismatic
Summary: So, of course, everyone who has seen TMNT 2012 remembers when the Earth was blown up and then the turtles got a chance to redo it with the help of going back in time and of course the Professor. But what if...Having extra help sounds great. Another person to help them out, and get things done. Maybe things would go better, but maybe things could go worse. Much worse.Because what if...





	What If

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is actually a submission for @tmntflashfics for the theme Intergalactic. There are really no pairings in this, but if you squint there's hints of Mikey/April that might could happen. You never know? I might even turn this into something, but anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it!

* * *

 

**_What if…_ **

 

* * *

 

_“If you simply ignored the feeling, you would never know what might happen, and in many ways that was worse than finding out in the first place. Because if you were wrong, you could go forward in your life without ever looking back over your shoulder and wondering what might have been.”_

_― **Nicholas Sparks** , **Message in a Bottle**_

* * *

 

“No…” It was barely a whisper as Raph stared from the window of the spaceship. They had hurried off to Earth once Lana was ready, but it was already too late. His eyes widened at the vision in front of him as his brain refused to process it. His breathing hitched, it was hard to swallow and the room sounded as empty as the space in front of him.

 

_It’s gone…they won…_

 

The Triceratons already blew up the Earth, and he knew that was their last chance to save everything. They were too late to stop them from doing it. Too late to do anything.  

 

There was nothing but empty space and clusters of rock where Earth once stood. Raph could see stars that ran for miles and there was hollow laughter ringing through his head as his hands shook. The laughter grew louder along with his own pulse pounding in his head.

 

He suddenly realized it was him laughing. _It’s gone…All gone…_ He laughed more as his hands shook. Then he was howling as he felt eyes on him.

 

_We shoulda won…We always win…Always…_ He kept repeating in his head as he dragged a hand over his face.

 

“Raph...” Lana’s voice made him stiffen. She swore to them it’d only be a minute, and yet a minute became more than sixty of them by the time they took off for Earth.

 

She sounded off, her usual bravado nowhere near the tone he knows her for. Rage was taking over with each step he heard coming closer. _We was too late cuz of you..._ The loud thought echoed in his head, and his anger drowned out anything else he felt for the girl.

 

“What…” He growled, a fixed glare as he turned to look at her. “If it wasn’t fo’ you…” She shrunk back as he stomped towards her, backpedaling from him as her shell hit the wall.

 

Casey grabbed his arm, “Raph don’t do nothin you gonna regr-” but Raph wasn’t stopping as he knocked the dark-haired teen to the side. His eyes were trained on the girl in front of him and she had nowhere else to go.

 

“Raph, I didn’t mean for this to happen…”

 

“Just shut up!” He yelled as he lunged forward until his brothers and Casey grabbed onto him pulling him back. “It’s yo fault! All yo fault!” His nails dug into his palms, and Lana stood with her mouth opening and closing.  

 

April ran over to Lana and looked over to him, “Raph, stop! You’re scaring her…”

 

“Like I care! When I get my hands on her, I’m tearin’ her apart!” Raph roared, ignoring his brothers and Casey as they tried to tell him to calm down. He lunged again with his nostrils flaring, trying to get loose.  

 

“Raph…” She said his name, and it sounded all wrong like broken pieces. His anger still whirled as he thought of his dad. _I’ll neva see him again…_

 

“Let me go!” He grunted, pulling harder as he screamed. He swore he could see tears at the corners of her eyes. _She neva cries…_ He had never seen her cry, not even when he found her that night surrounded by the foot. The night he helped her take them out, along with Casey.

 

_Wish we neva helped her…_

 “Try to calm down.” Leo was calm, too calm. It as an eerie calm that had Raph look at his brother and stop everything.  

 

“But if not for her…” Raph growled out, ignoring the kappa girl still against the wall with April beside her.

 

“It’s no one’s fault…” Leo glanced to Lana, but even Raph could tell the way his brother’s eyes swept past that open window that led to empty space. He heard Don grunt as Raph tried to lunge again.

 

“Just deep breath, Raphie, you know...woo-sah?” Mikey laughed, but it sounded off. Wrong. Raph would have questioned it, if not for his own anger tearing through him.

 

 Raph’s head snapped around with a fierce glare in Mikey’s direction. He fully expected Mikey to do his usual and take the hint, instead, the youngest turtle seemed to just be staring off. There was a tight grip on his side as Raph kept trying to move and he felt metal start to encircle him.

 

“Professor…” Raph gave a warning tone. The thought of tearing off one of the professor’s arms and using it to take off his head passed through his mind for the robot daring to stop him.

 

April had moved in front of Lana and Raph’s eyes narrowed at the red-head. _Why ya’ll protectin’ her…_ His chest heaved and he looked at the floor, not wanting to see that window anymore as the rage started to leave. _Everythin’s gone…_ His heart sunk. They lost everything.

 

Lana hadn’t said another word. He looked at her again to see a look pass over her face. It looked nothing like her, but Raph couldn’t find it in him to care.  

 

_It’s all her fault…_ He squeezed his eyes shut, and took a deep breath. The fight had left out of him and they had all let him go, only for him to stand there. _Is da space home now?_

 

 “Raph?” Casey placed a hand on his shoulder and he barely looked up at Casey. “C’mon man, talk to me.”

 

Raph opened his mouth but shook his head as he refused to break down in here especially in front of her. He steeled himself, shrugging off Casey and started walking towards his room on the ship.

 

“Raph!” Lana’s wail reached his ears, and it sounded as off as he felt. He didn’t stop or spare her the usual glance even as her tone cracked. His feet kept moving and he closed himself inside, away from them all as tears threatened to fall.

 

Raph felt weak as he slid to the floor, holding his head as his body shook and he could no longer hold it in as the tears started coming. He heard the door swish open and he couldn’t stop, only pulling his head further in his shell as he felt someone sit beside him.

 

“She didn’t mean it…” Casey began, his own voice hang, and Raph could hear the pain in Casey’s own voice. He let his head come out the shell slightly, watching Casey move a hand through messy dark hair until he tugged at a few strands. “I know she didn’t…” Casey breathed out, and Raph wondered just how close to falling apart his best friend was.

 

“This shouldn’t have happened.” Raph let his head fully as he tried to keep his voice steady. “If she was neva here, none of this woulda happened. We’d be back home right now and we coulda saved my dad...” Raph’s voice was caught in his throat, memories of plans that would never see fruition swirled in his head.

 

Casey had closed his eyes, “Ya don’t know that…”

 

Raph paused out of habit, to give time for Lana’s comeback in case he had to tell them both off. He growled inwardly at himself, not wanting to care that his other side bare, with no girl close by. He hated her more for making him care about her.

 

“We coulda…” Raph shifted, as though it’d erase that empty spot along with the memories.

 

“Ya don’t know that…” Casey murmured, his voice tight. “So blamin’ Lana ain’t gonna change anythi-”

 

“We wouldn’t been waitin’ on her!” Raph snapped, “We woulda got there in time an’ not hafta watch em tear apart Earth AGAIN!”

 

“It wuz her world too Raph!” Casey’s eyes opened and he glared, as he stood up.  “We all lost somethin!”

 

“Yeah, but it ain’t her dimension.” Raph reminded him as Casey looked away. “So, what she lost Case?”

 

He looked at his friend a long time in silence until he heard a knock and the door swished open. At the sight of Leo, Raph wasn’t sure what to say. Leo’s face still held nothing and Raph looked away unable to handle it without wanting to kill Lana more than he did now.

 

“Come on. We’re landing soon.”

 

“What for?”

 

“We need supplies since we won’t be going ho-” Leo stopped. Raph was sure that was more than enough of an answer for Casey as he stood to join everyone.

 

“We comin,” Raph answered, getting barely a nod out of Leo as he turned to look at Casey. “Ready?”

 

“Yeah…” Casey shrugged and followed, as Raph did the same.

 

The room felt colder and way too big as they entered the main area. April was being hugged by Mikey and it looked odd to Raph, as he noticed Don to the side. His younger brother busy with coordinates and seeming more concerned with the panel than the world around him.

 

_Everythin’s fallin’ apart…_

 

“The professor said this place would be good for supplies.” Leo began talking and Raph nodded to him. “It’s a lot like Earth, so they’ll have things we’re used to. We’ll be landing soon so everyone needs to be ready.”

 

“Wait, we have to wait for Lana…” Mikey looked at them and Raph snorted.

 

“How soon till we land again?” He wasn’t bothering, waiting is what got them into this mess in the first place.

 

“We’re not leaving her behind, Raph.”

 

“Don’t see why not…” Raph gave Leo a look. “None of this woulda happened if she was jus left behind.”

 

“Then she would have blown up with everyone else…” Leo said quietly, yet Raph had no intention of taking what he said back.

 

“Raph…blaming her doesn’t bring anyone back, the best we can do is move forward. We can’t let ourselves fall apart now. Especially, when we all need each other…” Leo moved to go past Raph and to the weapons. “We’re all we have now.”

 

“Ya sound like dad…”

 

“Good.”

 

“Don’t.” Raph gave Leo a look and looked back out the window, watching the stars pass. _Dis what we gonna do now? Go from planet to planet like some intergalactic warriors?_

 

He heard footsteps behind him and didn’t bother to look. 

 

“You hate me that much?” Came a tiny sound from behind him and Raph glanced back to look at Lana. “Do you?” She asked again, firmer this time with her eyes narrowed at him.

 

“Mebbe.” He folded his arms and she shook her head at him.

 

“We were frien-”

 

“Far as I’m concerned, ya dun exist.” He interrupted her, not wanting her to finish that sentence. He turned back around, the urge to fight was back again and his anger was turning into hate quickly.

 

“I don’t exist?” She yelled. “You act like I did all this on purpose! Like it was some grand master plan I had going!”

 

“Ya jus cost us everything! Just cuz you can’t move fast enough!” He turned around and snapped, unable to take it anymore.

 

“I was moving as fast as I could! If I don’t put that water in me, I die!” Lana yelled, her hand going to that soft spot in her head he learned the Kappa race had. “You know that…”

 

He looked away, not denying that but his eyes found the window again. 

 

_Dad…_

 

“It’s been two weeks…” She continued, but Raph wasn’t looking at her. He growled inwardly, trying to ignore her as his curled his hands into fists.

 

“Go…away…”

 

“Would…” Her tone slowly became quiet, “would you prefer I die?”

 

“Yes!” He glared to look at her and as she stared at him he realized what he just said. “I ain’t mean da-”

 

 

She held up a hand. “Don’t bother” Lana turned away and paused to look back at him “My brother’s dead because of me…” Lana was barely audible and Casey’s words came back to him.

 

**_“We all lost somethin’...”_ **

  

He was at a loss for words as he watched her walked away.

 

“Bro, ya okay?” He looked to see Casey, and Raph leaned against a wall.

 

“I really hate space…”

 

_But now it’s home._

**Author's Note:**

> Like it? Love it? Hate it? Let me know!


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